Cliched Revenge
by PrincessDesire
Summary: Rogue pretends to be Kurt's girlfriend to make Kitty jealous. The plot has been done six million times before, I know. This is my first straight fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

The X-kids were lounging about their usual bench at school. Jean was sitting next to Scott, Kurt was next to Kitty, and Rogue and Spike were standing at the ends. Though happy to be next to Kitty, Kurt was increasingly annoyed by her choice of conversation. She was talking to Jean about something "cute" that Lance, the jerk from the brotherhood that she was dating, had said. Kurt was miserable that his Kitty couldn't see what a waste of space Lance was. After all, they had first met when he was spray-painting lockers for crying out loud. But, it didn't seem to click in Kitty's head that she was dating a loser. A loser with one of the stupidest mutant powers he'd ever heard of. Earthquakes, yeah, that was useful.

"Isn't that like so sweet?" Kitty was asking him. Kurt had no idea what she was asking cause he'd been zoning out in anguish. He nodded vacantly as she then asked Jean the same question.

His eyes met Rogue's. She was as pathetically alone as he was and she could see what was going through his mind. It wasn't that hard to read really. He'd been obvious about his affections for Kitty since they'd met. He shrugged at Rogue in a "whatchya gonna do?" gesture.

"So what is everyone doing after school today?" asked Spike conversationally. He didn't really care, but watching the couples wasn't the most thrilling thing he could be doing.

Jean perked up. "Well, after practice, I think the Prof wanted me to help him out with a few things."

"I was thinking I'd hang around and watch Jean's practice," said Scott in a dull, robotic voice. This was the way he usually talked, because Scott was a boring person.

Kurt asked, "What were you thinking of doing Spike?" He was just hoping that maybe he'd have something more exciting than homework to do that night. He was getting bored at nights since his Kitty and Lance had become a couple. All she ever did after school was talk on the phone, from the time she set her backpack down to the time she rested her adorable head on her pillow.

Spike held up his skateboard. "Just practicing my moves. Tonight I don't know. Maybe see what's on TV."

"Yeah but like, you do that everyday," pointed out Kitty. "I'm going to the movies with Lance." She looked at Kurt again.

"Hey, I think I'll catch you all later. I gotta meet someone," he lied. Then he left the table feeling dejected.

Kitty smiled back at the group. Rogue lost her temper at the sight of those pearly whites. "Girl, are ya blind?"

"What do you mean?"

Jean and Scott gathered up their things…slowly. This way they could seem like they were respectful of privacy. Well, that's what Jean did. Scott just copied her movements like the automaton he was.

"Ya have to know that Kurt likes ya."

Kitty smiled. "Yeah so?"

"So, ya flaunt Lance in his face!" accused Rogue angrily. One gloved hand was waving around wildly as she spoke.

Kitty stood up. "Look, I happen to like the attention, but I'd hardly expect you to understand what it's like to have two guys like you." She walked off quickly perhaps knowing how close Rogue was to chasing after her and slamming her head against the ground.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kurt was surprised by the knock on his door. Kitty was the only person that visited his room, but she just walked through. It hadn't made for any awkward moments yet, though it was inevitable that it one day would. "Kurt, can I come in?"

The voice sounded like Rogue. That surprised him more. "Sure."

The door opened and Rogue entered the room. She looked like she felt she was intruding. Her heavily made up eyes stayed mostly towards the floor. "Hey." She closed the door behind her.

Kurt had been sitting Indian-style on his bed with a comic book spread out on his lap, but he stood when she entered, ever the gentleman. "What's up?"

"Well, I came to talk to ya. I don't think your gonna like what I have to say." She was nervous, he realized.

His hand gestured towards his bed. "Would you like a seat?"

"Oh yeah, thanks." She plunked down on his bed with her knees and then sat back on her feet. "Kurt, I wanted to tell ya that I think ya can do better than Kitty."

Better than Kitty? Was there anyone better than Kitty? "But I don't have Kitty."

"And ya shouldn't want her either. She ain't no good Kurt."

He scratched his head. "You came to my room to insult my best friend?"

Again her eyes were towards the floor and a guilty look of meddling came over her face. "I know it seems bad…"

"Ja it does, Kitty is a wonderful person. She is good and kind." He wasn't quite angry yet, but he was feeling particularly defensive.

"She knows ya like her Kurt." Kurt's mouth gaped open. How did Kitty know? Did someone tell her? How did Rogue know? "And she talks about Lance around ya to get a rise out of ya. It makes her feel like a better person. Though it should make her feel like a bitch."

Suddenly Kurt needed to sit. He sat next to Rogue on his bed. "How does she know?"

Rogue laughed. "Everyone knows. Ya aren't exactly subtle about it."

He watched her amused face that was artificially whitened with baby powder. "And she… she wants to make me jealous?"

She frowned. "Yeah. She enjoys hurtin' ya, her best friend."

They sat in silence while Kurt mulled over the things Rogue had just told him. He went through a whole series of emotions. He was shocked that Kitty knew, hurt that she didn't love him back, horror that she would flaunt Lance on purpose, and a growing desperation that told him that now that she knew, he had a chance to win her over. "What can I do?"

"Drop the skank," suggested Rogue as if it were a natural conclusion.

Kurt scowled at her. "Nein. She is my best friend. I would never drop her."

Rogue uncurled her legs, shaking them to return blood-flow. "You could make her jealous back."

"Rogue! That is a splendid idea!" He jumped up and landed in a crouching position exactly where he had been. "I could just woo a girl to make Kitty jealous."

"No! That would make ya as bad as she is!" cried out Rogue in horror. "Ya can't go around messin' with innocent girls' hearts."

His head hung down. "Also, I don't think I could woo a girl in the first place."

"Ya could have a girl pretend to be wooed, one that knew ahead of time what was gonna happen." Rogue lit up with the brilliance of her idea. Her enthusiasm traveled to Kurt.

"Great! Where would I find a girl like this?"

"Ya could ask one of the girls at school or here in the mansion," she suggested.

Kurt stared at her, his grin devious and dopey at the same time. His tail flicked behind him in excitement.

"What? Oh god no, Kurt not me!"

"But why not? You already know right?" He bit his lip in suspense.

Rogue sighed. "Cause no one in their right mind'd wanna date me, even for pretend."

Kurt tumbled off the bed. Surprised, Rogue looked down. He was lying on the floor with his tongue hanging out and arms crossed as if dead. "Please. I'll die if you don't say yes."

"Ya'd better get some better moves than that if you're gonna woo me."

All eagerness he sat up, their eyes level. "I will. Will you do it for me?"

"Okay, but only so I can see the look on that brat's face."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-BAMF-

Kitty was lying in bed yakking on the phone when he bamfed beside her. He was facing her, but stretched out on his side in a relaxed position. They had been like this before sometimes for hours at a time, but he never made any move to do anything inappropriate to her. She appreciated that he exercised restraint out of respect for her. He was a good guy. If she wasn't dating Lance, she might be tempted to make the first move.

"I need advice."

She smiled warmly at him. "Lance, I've gotta go. I'll call you back before I go to sleep." She pressed the off button and it beeped.

Kurt wasn't looking at her. He seemed to be thinking really hard about something. Her hand reached out to touch his upper arm. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ah! Nein! Nein!" He had jumped at her touch. His eyes darted around but never actually looked into hers. "I just need your advice."

"Oh, sure." Kitty moved her hand with a growing suspicion that the advice had something to do with her.

"Well, there is this girl…" He was so adorably nervous. "I want to woo her. I thought you might help me on how to do that."

He was the sweetest guy she'd ever met. She was thrilled that he had come asking for advice on how to date…her. "Oh yeah? You like someone? Well, tell me about her!"

"Ah. Well, she's you know, a girl."

Kitty made a face. "Yeah, girls usually are."

Kurt laughed nervously. "Oh course, right. Well, she is um, smart. And she's pretty. I don't know…"

"For liking her, you don't seem like you know that much about her." Kitty was still smiling great big from the compliments.

Kurt was flicking at a thread on her comforter. "It's not that. I just feel…strange talking about it with you."

"I understand," she said, reaching out and brushing away some of his hair behind one of his curly ears. That got him to look at her. He looked positively terrified now that she could see them. "Well, girls like flowers. Maybe you could start there?"

He smiled happily. "That is a great idea Kitty! And I will sign them from anonymous."

Kitty laughed. "No, no. You're supposed to like, write 'From your secret admirer."

"Thanks friend!"

-BAMF-

Kitty wondered what kind of flowers Kurt would get her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

-BAMF-

"I'm giving you flowers tomorrow," Kurt said. He then made an abrupt "shrk" sound as he saw Rogue in a state of semi-dress. She was in jeans and a bra, which she was about to unhook.

"Kurt! Dontchya knock!" She exclaimed.

He did a 180. "Sorry, I did not expect for you to be… Oh gott, I'm sorry."

Rogue just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least I had my bra on." She grabbed her nightshirt and slipped it over her. It felt a little weird with the bra still on, but that would have to wait until there wasn't a manfolk in her room. "Ya can turn around."

Kurt did, but slowly. When he looked at her again, she was fully dressed, but still seemed overly appealing. He coughed. "Sorry."

She flicked her hand. "It's okay. So, you're getting me flowers?"

Kurt nodded. "She said that girls like flowers."

Rogue sat on her computer chair, spinning it towards him. "No, girly girls like flowers."

Frowning, he asked, "But you'll pretend to like them ja?"

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'll put on a great performance."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The doorbell to the mansion rang. Everyone was sitting around the livingroom talking about school. Kitty was close to the door, so she answered it. She was thrilled when she saw the flower delivery guy standing there. He held a bouquet of big white flowers. She grabbed them out of his hands in delight. "They're so pretty!" She turned around and revealed them to the group. "I wonder who they're from?"

Eagerly, she snatched the card from the bouquet. Spike got up to sign the annoyed deliveryman's paperwork. "I'll sign for it," he said, rolling his eyes.

Her eyes scanned the card. With a blank expression she asked, "Why does it say Rogue on it?"

Spike was peering over her shoulder. "That could be cause they are for...Rogue."

Kitty still hadn't quite gotten it when Rogue asked in a confused voice, "For me?"

Spike snatched the card from Kitty's hand. "It's got your name in the to spot."

Instinctually, Kitty's hand reached out to grab the card back from Spike. Even as Rogue stepped forward to take the bouquet, she was still processing the information. 'Rogue?' she thought in shock. She looked towards Kurt. He had his hands in his pockets and he looked sheepish. 'Rogue?'

Rogue took the card from Spike and read the little blurb out loud. "To Rogue – from a secret admirer!"

'Secret admirer?' thought Kitty angrily. It was finally clicking. He hadn't been asking for advice on what to get her, he had been after…Rogue. Kurt and Rogue? What a nauseating thought! She felt the need to scream and cover her ears.

"Can I see my flowers?" asked Rogue calmly. Kitty dazedly handed them over, the plastic making a charming crinkling sound as it passed between them. Kitty's cheeks turned red as she began to realize what an ass she had just made of herself.

"Magnolias…" Rogue whispered so quietly that Kitty had barely heard it. She sniffed the blossoms. "Why would someone buy me flowers?"

"Someone is in love with Rogue!" announced Cyclops happily.

Jean grinned. "Any idea who it is?"

She lowered the bouquet from her face. Her face looked gravely angry. "Yeah. A prankster." She stormed off to the kitchen where she proceeded to throw them in the trash. The group heard the swish of the trash door and the crinkling sound as she jammed them in. Jean's hand rose to her mouth, her eyes squinting with sympathetic pain. Kurt was obviously horrified.

Returning from the kitchen, Rogue wiped her gloved hands together. "If it was one of ya all, it wasn't funny." Then she took off up the stairs to her room.

Her friends just looked around at each other in surprise and sadness. Kitty was shaking from the thoughts going through her head. She glared at Kurt before stomping up the stairs herself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a knock on Rogue's door. "Go away!" she yelled.

"It's Kurt…" he whispered.

She opened the door and let him. "Thanks for not bamfing this time. Well? What'd ya think? Pretty convincing huh?"

"You threw the flowers away!" he yelped. Something about seeing all that money get compacted into a plastic refuse container had freaked him out.

She smiled brighter than he'd ever seen. She looked genuinely happy. "Yeah, just like ah would have done if I didn't know who sent 'em."

Kurt felt confused. "And that would woo you?"

She winked at him. "Ah didn't say it'd be easy." She lifted up her arms and placed them on the back of her head. "They bought it hook, line, and sinker."

That much was true, but her reaction had been so different from what he had expected, that he was under the impression his wooing had gone awry. "So, we are good?"

"Of course silly!" One of her gloved hands pushed at his chest playfully. "Now ya gotta go to Kitty and tell her that didn't work. She'll hafta come up with another way to woo me and now she knows it ain't her."

A lightbulb flickered in Kurt's brain. "Wow Rogue, that's really smart. You are amazing at deceit."

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "That's not a very nice compliment Kurt."

He laughed and tried to hug her. She stepped back. "I did not mean to insult you. You are just brilliant, that's all."

"Thanks." Again she smiled that tremendous smile. He wished she would smile like that more often. Then he might be hard-pressed to choose who was prettier: her or Kitty.

"Well, I'd better go and find out what I'm buying you next," he said before bamfing to Kitty's room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

-BAMF-

"Kitty! Ahhh!" A pillow thwacked against his head, knocking him backwards a bit. "Wha?"

Kitty was sitting cross-legged in bed, another pillow already in hand. "Why didn't you tell me it was Rogue!" Another pillow sailed across the room, this one missing him.

"Hey!"

"Don't hey me, you…you creep!" she yelled, searching for other things to throw at him.

He darted across the room, to restrain her wrists. He knelt in front of her and peered down into her angry face. "Why are you angry Kitty?"

A pout filled her face. She yanked her wrists free of his hands. "You should have told me who it was."

"Why? Do you not approve of romance with Rogue?" He wasn't sure that it was jealousy that was making her act this way. It would be too wonderful if she was having such an extreme reaction to his scheme.

"Of course not. She's all wrong for you. She's a witch who hermits herself away from everyone. You are sweet and good and fun to be with." Her hand touched his cheek. She stroked it softly. "You're too good for her."

Kurt's stomach quaked. They had never shared such a tender moment before. He almost felt like maybe she might want him to kiss her. He didn't know if he had the guts to do such a thing if that was even what she wanted. Still, their eyes were locked onto each other and her fingers were still on his face.

-RING-

"Hold that thought," she said, annoyed. She reached out for the phone. "What? Oh, hey Lance. I'm pretty busy right now. Oh yeah? No way! Really? Get out! That's awesome. What did he do?"

Kurt's frown lowered past his knees. Disappointment flooded his body. She still had a boyfriend. She wasn't going to dump Lance for him. Not yet anyway. His head raised up, confidence suddenly pumping through him.

-BAMF-

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kitty was staring out her window into the night. It was late and the mansion was quiet. She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. She was in love with Lance, that was as obvious as saying she was female. But just thinking about Kurt with any other girl made her feel queasy. Sick with a jealousy that she couldn't understand. Was it just that he had chosen Rogue, a girl that she couldn't stand? It was so hard to tell. For a while that night, she had wanted Kurt to kiss her. That would be hell on her conscience. If something like that had happened, she would have had to tell Lance and then he'd dump her like she'd deserve. Her forehead touched the cold of the glass. At first it was startling, but it just turned her head cold and she couldn't really feel it after a bit. She wanted a snack.

Kitty phased through the floor and made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge. Lots of health foods. She phased partway into the cupboard. Eureka! She found an opened package of Oreos. She grabbed three and then sat down at the table. While she was scarfing on chocolatey goodness, she noticed the trash can. Something compelled Kitty to look at the flowers. When she pushed back the lid, she didn't see the huge wadded up bouquet.

Rogue had taken the flowers out. Kitty sighed and let the lid slide back. Poor Rogue. She had put up that wall, but she was still excited about the gift. Kitty wondered if it had been a hard thing to do: coming down to the kitchen and retrieving the present from the garbage, letting herself hope that they had not come as a joke. Perhaps Kitty was just being too selfish. Grabbing a glass of milk to wash down the Oreos, she headed back to her room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It caught Kurt completely off guard when Kitty phased into his room the next morning. It wasn't the phasing in unannounced that surprised him; she did that all the time. But, when she entered she said, "Poetry."

"Wass?"

"Poetry. Women like it even more than flowers."

Kurt continued rounding up his textbooks. "Ja, well we saw how well the flowers went."

Kitty examined her nails with enthusiasm. "Oh drat. I should have touched these up last night. Anyway, she totally loved them."

He squinted his eyes at her. "So that was why she tossed them into the trash?"

"Oh please, that's just how she is. You're the one that picked her! But honestly, she loved them. I could tell." When Kurt continued staring at her in disbelief she added, "Take my word for it. I'm a woman; I know these things."

"Alright, but poetry? She doesn't seem like the poetry type."

"You might have to goth it up, but yeah. Just talk about how beautiful she is compared to like bleeding skulls or something. Look, I'm not the one that has to write it. I'm just suggesting that you give lyrics a try all right?"

Kurt shrugged. "Don't have much to lose right?"

Kitty smiled. She patted his head. "Just remember: Chicks like the fuzzy dude, kay?"

Kurt wasn't sure what had changed her mind so drastically, but he thought she had a good idea. Poetry was something that women liked. He wasn't sure if Rogue would like it though. She wasn't like most women. "I'll catch up with you. I just want to check on something real quick."

-BAMF- He was standing outside of Rogue's room. He had learned his lesson about bamfing into her room. Her door was open this time, so he walked in. "Rogue?" he whispered.

"What?" She was wearing her knee high boots today. He had always liked them, but today they looked especially fetching on her. It might have been her collars metallic spikes that made the whole outfit look so…dangerous. She was waiting for an answer.

"Um, I'm going to write you poetry."

Rogue scoffed. "I think I liked the flowers better."

That was a bad sign. "Can you not throw my poetry in the trash?"

"Can't that skank recommend a Manson CD or a gift certificate or something?" She slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I'll pretend ta like your poem, but I wanna get goin' here before we're late."

Suddenly he didn't feel as studly as he had before he visited Rogue.


	2. Chapter 2

The end of lunch bell had just rang when Rogue caught up with Kurt. She grabbed the back of his shirt since he was walking so fast. "Is it done?" she asked him eagerly.

He patted his notebook. "Ja, took me all lunchtime. Sorry but I spilled some food on it."

Disgusting and yet, completely predictable that lovenotes from Kurt would have ketchup stains. "Whatever. Just give it to me."

"But," he looked around. "She isn't around…"

Rogue shook her head. "She's in the next class with me. Give it!" Students were bustling past. Soon, the late bell would ring. She made a 'hurry up' gesture with her hands. With a shrug, he pulled out a paper folded into a complicated little envelope. She stared at. She had a vague memory of folding papers like that when she was little.

"I can make swans too," he bragged. She rolled her eyes at him, but she was amused. She was wondering to herself if she still remembered how to make cootie catchers. "It's a little dark. Kitty thought you might like a 'goth' poem."

"I'll tell you how it goes," was all she said before heading off to her geography class.

Kitty wasn't even in class yet, just making out with Lance outside of it. Unable to resist, Rogue muttered, "Get a room" before entering class.

"That's not a bad idea," said Lance.

The bell rang while Rogue was debating over where to sit. She always sat in the back, while Kitty sat in the middle. This meant that in order to "discover" the poem in a way that got Kitty's attention, she would have to sit closer. She loathed the idea of moving up even a little from her normal spot. Besides, wouldn't Kitty think that was strange?

"Hey you, can I have your gum?" Rogue asked some random girl that also sat in the back.

"This is the only piece I have."

"That'll do just fine." The girl just looked at her. Rogue glanced back at the door that Kitty was half through, her upper body still attached to the brotherhood scumbag. "Please?"

The girl pulled the gum out of her mouth. "You want my used gum?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Yeah." The girl held out the squishy wad in bewilderment. Rogue knew that she expected her to pop it right into her mouth. She was weird yes, but not that weird. She took the proffered gum and stuck it to her usual seat. Then grabbed a seat that would be to the side of Kitty, if she sat in her normal spot. She missed the look of utter stupification on the gum girl's face.

"Can we start the class please?" The teacher shouted angrily. The stragglers in the doorway filed into the room.

Kitty sat next to her. "Hey, what are you doing sitting up here?" she asked.

A startled cry came from the back of the room. "Eeew, there's gum on the seat!" In response, Rogue shrugged her shoulders. "Didn't feel like getting a sticky butt."

The teacher began his infinitely boring lecture. Rogue was enjoying this minor act of subversion. She opened her notebook and then dramatically gasped. "What the…?" she exclaimed.

Kitty looked at her as she picked up Kurt's envelope. Rogue frowned. "Oh for cryin' out loud." She opened it up slowly though she was excited. She not only wanted Kitty to see the poem, but she was curious as well. As she read the first few lines, it took every ounce of willpower not to guffaw and grab her stomach. She couldn't imagine Kurt writing this dreary and vile poem. No wonder it had taken him all lunch. Whenever she skimmed a word like skull or blood, his buffoonery made her eyes water.

"It's a poem," she whispered for Kitty's benefit.

"From the flower guy?" Kitty whispered back.

Rogue stared at Kitty incredulously. "Ya think ah got two secret admirers?" Kitty shut her mouth. It was hard not to grin at the way she looked miffed. Also hard not to grin at Kurt's cheesy rhymes. 'And like the grinning of a skull, you are never dull.' It was the worst poem she had ever read. She couldn't wait to tease him about it.

* * *

"Blood don't even rhyme with good. I want my haiku." Rogue had her textbooks out though she'd been too busy teasing Kurt to get any homework done. She was doing poorly in the two classes that she shared with Kitty; that girl was a jinx.

"Ach I know!" He put his fuzzy hands in his head. "I'm terrible at poetry. I tried really hard."

She had been torturing him since they got out of class. Even during dinner she had made silly faces at him. She had even used a line or two at the table. She had read it at least five times so she remembered the particularly bad parts. "Okay okay."

"You'll like my next gift better. Kitty told me that you wouldn't like it cause it was too girly for you. But I think you are just girly enough."

She felt her eyebrow raise. "You're giving me a gift against Kitty's advice? Maybe this one won't suck then."

"I should take back the vacuum then?" he laughed jovially.

Rogue rolled her eyes. Kurt had notoriously bad jokes. "I gotta get to my homework or I'm toast. I hate geography."

"What countries are you studying? I could help you with Deutsch….Germany." He looked over her shoulder to the opened textbook. There was a map of the middle east with little icons that stood for different exports. He closed his eyes and made a snoring sound.

"Tell me about it!" she cried. "Besides, this ain't about how Germany treats its blue citizens."

Kurt shrugged. "About the same as any country: circuses that feature The Amazing Nightcrawler."

Rogue continued to work on her homework which involved a lot of back and forth fact checking. For some reason, Kurt just hung around. He perused the few books that she had, most borrowed from the downstairs library. There were bookmarks in most of them like she was reading all of them at once or had started on them and then stopped. Then he checked out her outfits hanging in her closet. He recognized all of them except for two dresses tucked in the back. She'd never worn a dress since being at the institute. Reflecting upon why, he came up with the conjecture that maybe they showed too much skin. If a man tried to grab her knee or something, he'd be fried.

Under her bed, he found a pair of shoes, some rolled up socks, and a spiral notebook. He got all excited thinking it was a diary, but it just turned out to be school notes. "Do you keep a diary?" he asked the back of Rogue's head.

"Nope. Why, would ya wanna read it or something?"

"I think it would be entertaining." At least it would be more entertaining than just watching her do her homework. "You know, something to do?"

"Go bug Kitty then."

"But I want to bug you!" he whined. She flipped him a glance over her shoulder.

"You're doing a good job. Honest Kurt, would ya just leave me alone?" With her gloved hands she ushered his furry blue body out the door to her room.

He pretended to be insulted. "Fine then, I can tell where I'm not wanted."

She continued her geography for nearly another hour. She considered it studying long enough when she her bladder filled. As she walked to the door to head to the restroom, she noticed a note slipped under the door. It was another one of Kurt's origami letters. 'What a pest!' she thought snatching it up.

On it was written:

_575_

_Enigmatic girl_

_Secretly thoughtful_

_Glad to call her friend_

He had written her a haiku. Tenderness crept into her heart a bit for the considerate gesture.

Kurt was a pretty nice guy. Yeah, he was obnoxious and overly energetic. He also looked roughly like something you'd find in your bathtub drain. But, he had a kind heart and was fiercely loyal to his friends, which he now must consider her judging from his note. She didn't really have any friends.

She went to the little bookshelf she had in her room and opened up her copy of Interview with a Vampire. She found the crushed magnolia easily enough, the pages bulking from it. Next to it, she placed the note, folded up in basic quarters; she didn't know how to fold it back. Looking at the magnolia again made her smile. Had it been an accident that Kurt had chosen a magnolia flower? Or had he known that it was something very dear to her? It was after all, her home state's flower, abundantly blooming throughout Mississippi. She would not make a fool out of herself by asking, since it was probably just a strange coincidence. Still, the smell brought her back to childhood, a good thing and a bad thing simultaneously.

Now he was working on a present for her unguided by Kitty. She hoped that he chose something that she wouldn't have to work too hard to drum up enthusiasm for. She was surprisingly curious to find out what it was.

* * *

"So, do you think you know who Rogue's admirer is Kitty?" asked Jean. It was breakfast time and way too early for conversations about love, especially if it involved Kurt and Rogue. Kitty forced a swallow of pop tart.

"Oh, don't be so silly! It's just someone trying to tease me. Everyone here knows that I'm deadly to touch and everyone at school knows that I'm a freak."

"But what if it really is an admirer?" coaxed Jean. She was smiling knowingly. "Sometimes guys are just too shy to come out and say something, isn't that right Scott?"

Scott nodded, eyes vacant. "Yes."

"Hadn't thought about it," shrugged Rogue. "Certainly doesn't seem like a very bright fella."

"Well, he's obviously romantic," enthused Jean.

"Can we just shut up about this secret admirer crap?" squealed out Kitty. She was sick of the speculation of the others and she was really sick of imagining the outcome of Kurt's attentions. "She doesn't care and I totally don't care."

The dining room fell silent, surprised out her outburst. Rogue smirked. It was really getting to her. She wished that Kurt was around to see how jealous he was making Kitty. It would probably make him feel wanted.

"So, the Screaming Nails concert is tonight upstate," said Spike finally. "My skater friends are gonna head up there and see if we can get some tickets from scalpers. They've been sold out for a while, but it's not like there is much to do around here on a Saturday night."

Rogue wished that she had money for tickets. Spike could just ask his aunt for a loan, but she didn't have that luxury. The Screaming Nails were her favorite group of all time. Every time they released a new album, she would have to shoplift a new one, though she knew it was wrong. She yearned for the opportunity to hear their music full volume, drumbeats pulsing through floorboards.

"If you're looking for a ride, Scott and I had plans," Jean said snippily.

"I wasn't," Spike growled. "Jeff's got his mom's old hippy van. We've got room for more if anyone wanted to join. Rogue, you like them right?"

Rogue nodded her head. "They're alright. I think I'll just be staying here though."

"Well, we leave at six if you're interested." Rogue was used to not getting things that she wanted.

* * *

"I don't know why you have to act that way all the time! It's like you're embarrassed of me. Yes you do!" Kitty was yelling at her phone. Every time that she fought with Lance it felt like the end of the world. "You know, my friends aren't exactly thrilled about us being together either, but I still let you hang out with them. Because you're friends are jerks. Oh yeah? Well, takes one to know one!"

She hung up, getting the last word in. Her eyes were teary. She didn't even want to spend time around the Brotherhood, she just wanted him to invite her. It was asking too much of someone like him.

"What a jerk," she spouted as she jumped off her bed to go and talk to Kurt.

"Lance is a jerk," she stated, phasing through his door.

"And this is news?" he asked. He was sitting on the back of the chair in his room reading a book.

Kitty flung herself down on Kurt's bed. With a loud sigh, she began venting about the argument with Lance, about how frustrating he could be and how much it hurt to feel rejected by him. When she finished her long rant, she waited for Kurt's words of comfort.

He sat on the bed next to her and peered down at her. "You are very pretty Kitty."

'What?' she thought. "What?"

"Ah. Ha. Ha. Um, I was thinking you're too pretty to be treated that way." Kurt wasn't recovering very well from his slip up. She really was just so beautiful to him, so perky and independent and totally adorable.

She squinted at him, knowing full well that he hadn't been saying that to comfort her. Still, she liked that he was saying it to her and not to Rogue. "Yeah well, that's like totally true." Then she smiled at him to show that she was joking.

He smiled back. "I was going to come and see you after I finished my chapter. I have a request to make!"

She snatched the book that was resting in his hand, one digit holding his place. "Since when do you read? Interview with the Vampire?"

"Ah yes, it has been wonderful to read! It's Rogue's favorite book."

Kitty frowned deeply. She was getting so sick of this crap. Now he was reading her favorite books! Next thing you know, he'd be trying to put black makeup all over his blue face. "Oh for crying out loud!" She sat up angrily. "Are you going to turn goth too?"

Kurt was confused by her response. Him? Goth? "Nein. Why would you think that?"

"Well, since you like her so much!" She tossed the book to the ground angrily. She was pouting and could actually feel that she was but she was unable to stop. He had her so riled! "You're going to start dating her and then you'll turn all depressing and antisocial like she is!"

"Ah, so that is why you're angry! You are afraid I'm going to change!" Disappointment flooded him as he realized the source of her anger. It wasn't jealousy; it was concern. He had been foolish to hope for anything more. Kitty was too good for him.

She was sitting Indian-style now beside him and he was not far from him, so there was no need for him to nearly fall over when she hugged him. He did almost tip though, only his great physical balance counteracted his emotional surprise. Her dainty little arms wrapped around him tightly. He couldn't breathe for several seconds and when he did, he could smell her hair.

She wasn't moving, just holding. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her, his blue furred arms were bare since he had only a t-shirt on. They clashed with the green top she was wearing. It felt like time was standing still for him and every fur on his body was on end. They had hugged before, but this felt different. This felt so painfully right that he could have died from happiness.

The sounds of the mansion were audible, but unimportant. At the same time though, Kurt was worried that he would hear adult footsteps and they would be caught in this embrace alone in his room. Probably she meant nothing by it, but it wouldn't look that way from the outside. It also didn't feel that way to him on the inside.

"What request did you want to make?" she asked, her breath on his shirt.

He laughed nervously. "Now I don't think that I should say."

It was a request about Rogue. She sighed. "Need another gift idea?"

"Uh no, I was ah, kinda hoping that you would give her a gift I already got."

She was surprised. So far, he had just been taking her advice. Maybe he was getting the hang of understanding Rogue.

Glancing up from her place on his chest, her face was inches from his. He didn't look quite as weird this close up. His features were so exaggerated but his face still was almost handsome. Well, cute at least, maybe not handsome. He noticed that she was looking at him and his eyes were wide. He looked scared of her. She wondered if he was even in love with her anymore.

She unhooked one hand from around him and fiddled with the collar of his shirt, lazily brushing it with her fingers. His mouth opened slightly from surprise. Firming her hand, she pressed it against his chest right above his heart. It was beating like mad. She could feel its pounding against her palm. Yes, he still loved her. If he didn't, his heart wouldn't be racing like that.

Would she be willing to throw away her relationship with Lance just to keep him from loving Rogue instead of her? She didn't love Kurt. At that moment she truly wanted to. He was such a great guy. But the fact was that she just didn't love him. Maybe Rogue could.

"Yes, I'll give her your gift."


End file.
